Tag Archives: background

Greeks and tourists have the opportunity to visit 28 lighthouses across Greece and be briefed on their contribution in safe navigation and the development of the lighthouses network. the lighthouses are open to public on Sunday, August 18th 2019 as part of the cultural heritage and in the context of …

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Greece is to acquire two frigates of multi-mission type FREMM from France among tension with neighbor Turkey. The plan is revealed just a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his support to Greece against threats in the East Mediterranean Sea. According to Greek media, the frigates will be …

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Panagiotis Lafazanis, energy minister in the first SYRIZA government, claimed he had agreed with Moscow in 2015 that Russia would make a down-payment for a gas pipeline so that the money could be used to finance rexit if the country would decide to leave the euro zone. Lafazanis told Vima …

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“Angela, once you called me about my finance minister. Now, I call you about yours.” This is what Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, two days before the Eurogroup meeting in Malta on April 7,2017.  It was Tsipras’ phone call to Merkel that unblocked the …

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The Brexit, Cyprus peace talks, Greek-Turkish relations and the bilateral relations will be on the agenda of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his British counterpart Boris Johnson in Athens on Thursday, April 6, 2017. The visit comes after Kotzias accused the UK of lobbying for Turkey on the Cyprus …

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French President Francois Hollande revealed that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wanted to print Drachmas in Russia. In a book “Presidents should not talk about such things” Hollande speaks about a conservation he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin in summer of 2015, the peak of the Greek crisis before the …

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The board chairman of Greece’s largest lender Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) resigned on Wednesday after an extraordinary board meeting. Michael Sallas who led Piraeus to become the country’s largest bank by assets after a series of acquisitions said in a statement that the new financial environment needed new managers to “steer …

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A “Temporary Grexit” a la Schaeuble was a real option for Greece’s Euro-partners after the Referendum on July 5th 2015.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly brought up the issue in conversation with French President Francois Hollande on July 6th, just one day after the Referendum took place. Hollande rejected Merkel’s …

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Several international media have leaked background information of the stormy negotiations between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his euro “partners” during the Euro Leaders Summit on Sunday and the dramatic night that followed. Talks “nearly ended in a Grexit, both figuratively and literally when, at 6am Monday morning Brussels …

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Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had a plan: once the ECB forced Greece’s banks to close, he could act unilaterally and 1. issue IOUs 2. apply a ‘haircut’ to the Greek bonds issued to the ECB in 2012, 3. reducing Greece’s debt and 4. seize control of the Bank of …

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I have the strong feeling that since yesterday I live a Greek déjà vu experience. Components of the situation we face today that is the “political games vs snap elections” strongly remind me of summer of 2009, when then main opposition party PASOK was threatening the government of Nea Dimokratia …

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In an unexpected move, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and deputy PM Evangelos Venizelos announced on Wednesday evening, that they will seek a vote of confidence at the Greek Parliament.The government decision splashes in the middle of a political atmosphere full of tension with main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA, a constant …

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Greece’s Army Chief of Staff Cosntantinos Ziazias dropped a “bomb” in the early morning hours of Wednesday. He resigned citing reasons of “ethics and dignity”. Ziazias’ resignation came hours before a government meeting (KYSEA) with top brass from the political and military leadership of the country on military and defence policy. But most …

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With her ‘alleged’ (?) euro-referendum proposal German Chancellor Angela Merkel achieved the impossible: to unite all Greek Parties against her! The pro-bailout and the contra-bailout parties alike. Despite denials from the German side and confirmations from the Greek side, there is still confusion on Saturday morning as to whether Angela Merkel …

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A Greek high rank prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation into the trading of stocks of the National Bank of Greece and the Alpha Bank. Greece’s  Capital Market Commission also ordered an investigation into the same affair, focusing on the period between February 8 and 21, beginning with National Bank’s first approach to …

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The shares of National Bank of Greece and Alpha Bank are under the microscope of Greece’s  Capital Markets Commission, news portal Zougla.gr  reported. The screening refers to the trading of the shares in the period of time between January 18, when the administration of NBG approached the management of Alpha for the first time, …

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